18. Death
Sailor Raspberry
535 Words
Mamoru saw her sitting huddled in the corner of a booth, head buried within her slender hands.
Involuntarily, he shifted his books to his other arm, and furrowed a brow. Glancing over at his usual seat at the counter, he fought back the urge to get a cup of coffee, and slowly made his way over to her.
Usagi lifted her head slowly as Mamoru slid across from her before her evident surprise flip-flopped into a scowl.
"Go away," she mumbled, turning and resting her chin against the sharp angle of her shoulder. "I'm not in the mood."
Mamoru ignored her comment and placed his books in the corner of the table. "I'm not here to pester you, Odango." He saw her eyes flash, but she didn't retort.
He shifted uncomfortably, "Is something wrong, Odango?"
Usagi chewed her lip for a moment, eyes softening just a moment before she turned to face him, "I was at the park with my younger brother, and you see..." She paused and scrunched her nose up. He swore he saw her chin tremble. "There was this butterfly, and it was beautiful, with so many colors and it was just so full of life and... and," her voice cracked, "stupid Shingo crushed it!" She buried her hands back into her hands, shoulders limp. "It was horrible!"
Mamoru gaped, eyebrows raised. "You aren't serious, are you?" At seeing her fierce look, he suppressed an oncoming laugh. "Odango, it's only a butterfly. It virtually has no importance to-"
"No!" She turned vicious eyes towards him, "How would you feel if someone bigger than you stomped all over you?"
He felt his heart give a nasty tug at her comment, and he found himself pulling out his world history book as her eyes began to water. "Usagi, look," he flipped open to the section on Native American beliefs. "Look at this."
He pointed to a diagram, watching as her eyes fell on the page. Swiping at her dampened cheeks, she whispered, "What's this supposed to be?"
Mamoru tapped the paper and met her eye. "It's called the Circle of Life." He smiled slightly at her astonished gaze. "You see, the Native Americans believed that whenever something died, and eventually disintegrated into the Earth's soil, it would help something else grow, and live. And then when that dies, the same thing will happen. It's continuous, just like a circle."
Usagi stared at the diagram, then looked up at him. "That's gross."
He chuckled, snapping the cover closed, "No, Odango, you don't get it. See, when that butterfly finally disintegrates, its eventual soil is going to help something else come into the world. So, its death was a sign of life."
"Oh." Usagi chewed on her lip for a moment. "That makes a lot of sense."
"It does, doesn't it?"
She looked at him, and her eyes softened, "Thank you, Mamoru."
He smiled, and glanced over at the counter, "Hey, how about a strawberry milkshake and a coffee, Motoki-san?"
And when they both had their drinks sitting in front of them, Mamoru lifted his mug in a toast. "Cheers to eternal life."
Usagi pried her lips away from the straw and followed his lead. "Cheers."